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The chair of the Toronto Police Services Board says the decision to send a complaint by Councillor Doug Ford back to the provincial police watchdog for investigation is not an indictment of Chief Bill Blair’s conduct.

On Monday, several media reports confirmed that a complaint made by Ford about the chief was moving forward.

In January, the OIPRD wrote to the police board, which oversees the chief, saying Ford’s letter had been classified as a complaint about conduct.

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The OIPRD directed the board not to communicate with the chief, to review the complaint and apply a “low threshold” to decide whether “on the face” of the allegation the letter “may constitute misconduct,” Mukherjee said.

“The complaint in effect was that the comments Chief Blair had made to the media were deliberately misleading and judgmental and they implied wrongdoing on the part of the mayor,” Mukherjee said.

“What the board did was to review the letter, applying the test of the low threshold, and came to the determination that we do not know, because we have not been given the ability to seek an explanation from the chief.”

Mukherjee said the board determined there could be an issue if the chief was privy to confidential information and made the comments with that knowledge.

That determination was sent back to the OIPRD in mid-February.

“There’s no implication there that the board has already drawn any conclusion,” Mukherjee said. “The board undertook no investigation.”

In November, Ford also publicly accused Blair of being in a conflict of interest after going on a fishing trip with board member Andy Pringle, former chief of staff to mayoral candidate John Tory. Mukherjee said that issue was not part of the grounds for the complaint and was not considered in the board’s response to the OIPRD.

“The board knew that from when Councillor Ford made his allegations the first time, and the board had a discussion of it and was satisfied from what the chief and Mr. Pringle had told the board,” Mukherjee said.

The OIPRD must now determine if Blair acted inappropriately when he made the comments to the press and if so, whether it was “serious or less serious” in nature, according to the agency’s protocols.

If Blair is found to have committed misconduct, he could face penalties such as a reprimand or forfeiting pay.

What was said at the Oct. 31 police press conference:

CTV’s Austin Delaney: Have you seen that video?

Chief Bill Blair: Yes I have.

CTV’s Austin Delaney: What do you think of it?

Blair: Again, this is a matter before the courts, Austin, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for the police to comment on the evidence they’re putting before — we gather that evidence, we put it before the courts and we’ll allow the courts to make a determination as to what it means.

Delaney: As chief of police, are you shocked?

Blair: I’m disappointed.

(Blair answers other questions)

Reporter: You say you’re disappointed. Could you elaborate on that for us?

Blair: Well, I think as a citizen of Toronto I’m disappointed. I know this is a traumatic issue for the citizens of this city and for the reputation of this city, and that concerns me. But again, that’s not for me to determine as the police chief. Our job in the police service is to gather evidence. And where there’s evidence to support the laying of a criminal charge, to lay that charge and to present that evidence to the Ministry of the Attorney General and to the prosecuting attorney so that it might be properly dealt with in the court of law — that’s what we’re doing here. And frankly, to comment otherwise, to make comment on what does it mean, is inappropriate for me to do that here today.

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